William p



(No Model.)

W. P. WOOD.

STATION INDICATOR.

No. 394,287. Patented Dec. 11, 1888.

foruey 'g Witnesses.

aha/M N PETERS. plIuto Llihngnpllcr. Walhmglnn. D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEETC WILLIAM P. IVOOD, OF ALBANY, NEIV YORK, ASSIGNOR OF 'llVO-THIRDS TO RALPH V. THACHER AND FREDERICK U. BRESLER, BOTH OF SAME PLACE.

STATION-INDICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 394,237, dated December 11, 1888.

Application filed May 5, 1888- Serial No. 272,961- (No model.)

To aZZ whom'z't may concern.-

Be it known that I, "ILLIAM P. \Voon, of Albany, in the county of Albany and State of New Yorr, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Station-Indicators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,

and to the figures and letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention has for its object to provide an improved device or apparatus for railwaycars, street-cars, stages, and like vehicles, for

indicating to the passengers in each vehicle the name or number of the next station, street, or stopping-point, so that they may keep posted as to their whereabouts without bothering the conductor, train-hands, or other attendants in respect thereto; and to this end it consists in certain novel details of construe tion and combinations of instrumentalities, which I will first describe, and then point out particularly in the claims at the close of this specification.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a perspective view of my improved indicator; Figs. 2 and 3, cross-sectional views of the same, showing the parts in different 0 positions. Fig. 4 is a detail view of one of the card shifting wings; Fig. 5, a view of the movable card-holder removed from the casing.

Similar letters of reference in the several figures indicate the same parts.

dicator, constructed of wood or metal and of any size and outward configuration that the constructers taste may dictate. It is preferably provided with two opposite glazed openings, B B, in the lower portions of its sides, through which the names or numbers or other information desired to be conveyed are adapted to be exposed, and it is suspended or hung upon pivots C C, which project from the upper portions of its ends and are journaled in suitable arms or supporting-brackets depending from the roof or ceiling of the vehicle in which the indicator is to be used.

My object in suspending the casing 011 pivots is to permit of its being swung both ways The letter A indicates the casing of the iny from a perpendicular position to an angle of, say, forty-five degrees, (more or less,) for a purpose to be presently explained, stops D .D be ing provided to limit the extent of movement.

\Vithin the casing A a card-holder, E, consisting of a frame closed, preferably, at top and ends and open at bottom and sides, except to the extent of narrow ledges e e on the bottom at the ends for supporting the card G, contained in the frame, save the two uppermost cards, and narrow ledges or stripsff on the sides at the ends for preventing the lateral displacement of the cards, all as shown in Fig. 5.

The card-holder E formed so as to fit neatly within the casing A and yet be capable of being freely moved up and down therein when operated by a rod, H, connected thereto, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

Upon the inner sides of the opposite side walls of the casing are hung, at i z, gravitating wings I I, each of the same being provided with a shoulder or edge, as shown in Fig. l.

"hen the casing hangs in a vertical position, as shown in Fig. 1, these shouldered wings hang within recesses .I J in the side walls of the casing; but whenever the casing is tipped to one side-as shown in Fig. 2, for instance-the wing on the upperino t "ide will swing outwardly until its shoulder projects over the edge of the outermost card in the card-holder E, and if then, while the casing remains in this tipped position, the cardholder E is drawn upward toward the top of the casing by means of the rod H, said shoul- 8 5 dered wing will engage the said outermost card, push said card from the holder, and allow it to drop to the opposite lower side of the casing over the glazed opening B on said lower side. Then upon the descent of the cardholder to the bottom of the casing again the said card will be caught by the beveled lower ends of the ledges or strips ff at the sides and forced back into the Ct11(l-ll()l(lGl,SO as to occupy the outermost position on that side, as 9 5 will be readily understood.

The cards, it should be here noted, are marked on opposite sides with the names or numbers of two adjoining stations or streetsas, for instance, the first card will bear on one side the name of station A and on the opposite side the name of station B, while the second card will bear the name of station B on one side and that of station 0 on the other, and so on throughout the series, the last card, of course, bearing 011 its rear side the name of the first station. From this method of marking the cards it follows that when the first card is removed from one side of the holder and transferred to the other side, as above described, the name of station A on its front side will be exposed through one of the glazed openings B to the passengers in one end of the car, for instance, while the name of the same station A on the rear side of the second card will be exposed through the other glazed opening B to the passengers in the other end of the car, thus enabling each one in the car to without difficulty post himself as to the next stopping-point on the route.

I propose to connect the upper end of the rod H to a strap or rope, as shown, to enable the conductor or other person in charge of the vehicle to tip the indicator either backward or forward, accordingly as he is making an outward or homeward trip.

Of course where the indicator is used on a continuous or belt line the tipping will always be in the same direction, and the stations will be designated in their proper order without the cards requiring to be touched.

I preferably rely upon the weight of the card-holder to bring it back to the bottom of the casing when raised by the rod H; but a spring or springs may be employed to aid this operation, if found desirable.

The cards may be of any material suitable for the purpose, and the names or numbers applied to them in any desired manner.

While I have used the word cards herein to indicate the parts that are to bear the names or numbers to be indicated, I-desire to be understood as not limiting myself to the employment technically of cards, as plates of metal or other material may be used instead.

By preference I make the bottom ledges of the holder slightly wider than the aggregate thickness of the cards between the outermost onesthat is to say, I bevel said ledges under the outermost cards, so that the latter will bind'slightly, though not so much as to prevent their withdrawal. I also preferably make the side ledges adjustable, so as to compensate for Wear of the cards and permit more or less cards to be used.-

Having thus described my invention, whatI claim as new is 1-. The combination, with the casing, of the cards, the movable card-holder within the easing and having the open sides, means for supporting the cards, and the side confining ledges or strips, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the casing, of the cards, a movable card-holder within the casing, and wings, substantially as described, for removing the cards from the card-holder when the latter is moved, as set forth.

The combination, with the casing having the reading-openings, of the cards held by the movable card-holder within the casing, and the movable wings'for removing the cards one at a time from the holder when the holder is moved, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with the pivoted casing having the reading-openings, of the cards held by the movable card-holder within the casing, and the movable wings for removing the cards from the holder when the casing is tipped and the holder is moved, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with the casing, of the cards held by the movable card-holder within the casing, the swinging card-removing wings, and the rod for moving the card-holder, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with the casing and its supporting-pivots, of the cards, the movable card holder, the swinging card removing wings, and the rod for moving the card-holder, substantially as described.

7. The combination, with the casing, of the hinged wings recessed into the sides thereof, and the movable card-holder carrying the cards, substantially as described.

8. The card-holder consisting of the closed top and ends and the ledges or strips at the bottom and sides, substantially as described.

9. The combination, with the cards, of the card-holder having the bottom ledges shorter than the aggregate thickness of the cards, and the side ledges or strips provided with beveled lower ends, substantially as described.

10. The combination, with the pivoted casing having the reading-openings, of the movable card-holder having the bottom and side ledges, the cards, and the hinged shouldered wings, substantially as described.

11. The combination, with the casing pivoted at the sides, and the movable card-holder within the casing, of the rod connected to the card-holder and passing through an aperture in the casing at a point to one side of the pivotal points, and an operating-cord attached to said rod, whereby when said cord is pulled the casing will first be moved on its pivots and then the card-holder moved within the casing, as set forth.

VILLIAM P. WOOD.

\Vitnesses:

MELVILLE CHURCH, THOMAS DURANT. 

